Record controlled annunciator



` 4, 1945. w. J. BAILEY ETAL RECO-RD CONTROLLED ANNUNCIATOR Filed April11, 1944 ATTO R N EY numeral 6 into line with window Patented Dec. 4,1945 RECORD CON TROLLED ANNUNCIATOR william J. Bailey, Packanaek Lake,N. J., and Charles E. Whiteman, Richmond Hill, N. Y., as-

signors to International Business Machines Corporation, New York NewYork, N. Y., a corporation of Application April 11, 1944, Serial No.530,570

6 Claims. (Cl. 177-327) This invention relates to visual indicators andVmore particularly to an indicator controlled by vdesignations sensed ina perforated record card.

'I'he principal object of the invention is to provide a simple, compactindicating device in which a. plurality of characters may be selectivelyand automatically displayed at Window.

A further object is to provide an indicator employing a novel principleof operation, in which there is provided a disk carrying a ring ofcharacters spaced around and to one side oi' a stationary window, and inwhich any character is presented to the window by sliding thedisk'across the face of the window in a direction determined by thecharacter to be displayed.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the followingdescription and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawing,which discloses, by way of example, the principle of the invention andthe best mode, which has been contemplated, of applying that principle.

In the drawing: f

Fig. 1 is a side view of the device.-

Fig. 2 is a front view of the device with .electrical operatingconnections extending to a dia.- grammatically represented record cardsensing device.

I represents the indicating disk upon whose outer surface there isspaced a. ring of characters designating the ten digits. The disk II) isintegral with one end of a rod or stem II whose opposite end terminatesin a ball I2 h'eld in a socket formed by bracket I3 and cover plate Il.

Coaxial with rod II and disk I Il is a window I5 held in framework I6,and with the parts in nore mal inoperative position as shown window I5exposes the central blank part of disk I0 and the numerals are out ofsight. To display a selected numeral at window I5, rod Il is tilted uponits rounded end in any of ten directions. Thus, as indicated by brokenlines in the drawing, rod II is tilted upwardly in a vertical plane toraise 'the I5. Tilting of rod II inl the opposite direction will presentnumeral I at th'e window. For the other numerals, the rod is tiltedobliquely to the left or right and up or down as is apparent.

The mechanism for tilting the rod in the ten dif-,

ferentdirections comprises a ring of ten magnets I1 supported on a,bracket I8, and spaced as shown in Fig. 2 each in radial relation with arelated numeral. Rod II has secured thereto a disk I8 provided with aring of armatures I 9 spaced to each lie opposite a magnet I1, so thatwhen a a common reading magnet is energized the armature oppositethereto will be attracted and thereby disk I8 and rod II will beinclined or tilted to display the numeral related to the energizedmagnet I1.

A conical spring 20 has one end anchored to cover I4 and the other todisk I8'. This spring serves to prevent rotative movement of disk I8androd I I and also serves to restore and hold the rod in its normalcentral position, when the magnet is deenerg'ized. Bracket I8 has acircular opening 2| through which sod II passes, and the edge of suchopening may serve as a limit stop for the rod. i

In the lower part of Fig. 2, there is represented diagrammatically amechanism for sensing desig-A nations in the well known Hollerith recordcard C. A row ofbrushes 22 traverses columns 23 of `the card column bycolumn or step by step through well known 'card feeding devices. Thedigits are represented in the card by perforations 24 made in horizontalrows related to the several digits. '1hus, for example, the cardof Fig.2 is perforated to represent the number 2356. When .the row of brushes22 is on the rst column 23, a circuit is completed from plus line 25, tocommon conductor 26, the 2 hole 24, the 2 brush 22 and related wire ofthe group designated 21 to the 2 magnet I'I and to the negative line 28.As a result, disk Il! is shifted down and to the right to locate thenumeral 2 in window I5. When the card steps to the left, the 3 h'ole issensed and disk I0 presents the 3 to window l5 and so on.

The record sensing device represents only one manner of completingcircuits selectively to magnets I'l and it Will be apparent that anyother means for closing circuits to the magnets, such as keys, may beemployed in accordance with' the use to which the novel be put.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out thefundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a singlemodification, it will be understood that various omissions andsubstitutions and changes in the form and details of th'e deviceillustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intentiontherefore to be limited onlyl as indicated by the scope of the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. An indicating device comprising a disk having a plurality ofcharacters arranged in a circle upon the surface thereof, a window inline with a different direction transverse to its axis for eachindicating mechanism mayof said characters and means for moving saiddisk in any one of said different directions to bring the relatedcharacter into alignment withy ing of the rod in a direction determinedby the particular magnet energized, anindicating disk secured to thefree end of the rod, and a window, said indicating disk beingpositionable relatively to said window to indicate through said windowthe magnet whose energization caused tilting oi the rod.

3. In an indicating device, a rod having a rounded end, a supporttherefor, spring means normally holdingV the rod in al position at rightangles to its support, a plurality of magnets spaced about the rod,energization of any magnet causing the rod to tilt about its rounded endin a direction determined by the location o1 tn'e magnet, an indicatingdisk on the free end of the rod and a window adjacent to the indicatingdisk, the tilting of the rod ,causing'said indicating disk to present adifferent area thereon to the window for each different position of therod.

4.. In a device of the class described having a plurality of digitrepresenting magnets, one vfor each of a number ot diIerent digits, andmeans for sensing a record card for digit representing window and diskto align the digit related to the energized magnet with said window.

5.- An indicating device comprising a disk having a surface forming partof a sphere and having a plurality of characters arranged in a circle onsaid surface, a.window in line with the center of the disk, said diskbeing movable in a diierent direction in a circularpath tangential totheplane of the window for each of said characters and means for movingsaid disk in any one of said different directions to bring therelatedcharacter into alignment with said window.

6. In an indicating device, a stationary window, a plurality ofcharacters spaced about said window in a plane substantially parallelthereto, said plurality of characters being carried on a commonsupporting element, said element being movable in a diilerent directiontransverse to the windowior each o! said characters and means forselectively moving said element in one of said different directions topresent the related character to said window.

WILLIAM J. BAILEY. vCHARLES E. WHITEMAN.

